


the most basic priorities

by breadwave



Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: Banter, Denial, Denial of Feelings, Discussion of feelings, Feelings, Fluff, Introspection, M/M, very minor angst, with a teensy bit of self-loathing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 10:30:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16514645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breadwave/pseuds/breadwave
Summary: Jekyll and Hyde come to the realization that sharing the same body comes with sharing the same mind, which comes with sharing certain attachments and thought processes. Needless to say, this brings unforeseen circumstances.





	the most basic priorities

**Author's Note:**

> wow, hyde, uh... really needs to get out of, um.. egypt! yknow? cause he's in... he's in, yknow, in de-ni- in de.... in de-nile. end joke.
> 
> thank you SO SO SO much to the four people who all took the time to beta read this for me! i appreciate all of you so much!

Another day was soon to end, and London’s sky blossomed into various shades of tangerine as the sun began to set. For most, this didn’t imply rest. For most, rest is gradual, an eventuality not yet achieved. 

 

“...And this way, Mr. Sinnett can test out his research on gas-related flame control,  _ and  _ it’ll simultaneously add some damage control on the Society’s reputation! It’s foolproof, Lanyon!”

 

And for some, rest is completely out of the equation.

 

“You know, you said that about the mice. And Mr. Bryson’s first-contact experiment; everyone knows how much of an existential nightmare  _ that  _ was. And not to mention—”

 

“Lanyon.” Henry Jekyll set down the wine glass he was nursing and strode over to his companion, just as smooth and calculated as if he were in the company of London’s chief of police himself. Ever the socialite, despite being in the company of his dearest friend. “I’ve known you for years now, and I know your skepticism, and I know you know I think about the same things, but at this point, what choice do we have?” Jekyll noted his own tension, the feeling growing less and less foreign by the day, but continued.  “The two of us, we’re climbing up every social ladder we can find, but at the end of the day we only have four limbs.” The doctor, as if to double-check, briefly held up his arms, eliciting a small chuckle from Jekyll. The alchemist felt a small warmth from within, but noted to himself that it didn’t feel like his own.

 

Lanyon took a couple seconds to process, and then locked eyes with his best friend, hesitant. “I know you’re correct, and I know that we need every chance we can get. Henry, I just... wish they didn’t always have to be risks.” 

 

The man in question gave a bittersweet smile and took the doctor’s hand, allowing himself to be just a little bit selfish. “I know. But…are risks not the foundation that scientists have laid themselves upon from the beginning? Do our livelihoods not revolve around risk-taking every single day?”

 

An almost unnoticeable smile began to dawn on Lanyon’s face, and if he were in the company of anyone else, it would have stayed unnoticed. Henry knew better, though, and began to smile himself.

 

“Security is unfamiliar to all of us, despite your insistence otherwise.”— “ _ No kidding,”  _ came a voice from a nearby mirror. Ignoring it, Jekyll continued.

 

“Exploration and discovery define our very souls, and that’s what the Society prides itself upon! What  _ we  _ pride ourselves upon. Right?” He questioned, holding Lanyon’s hand a little tighter, looking at his closest friend with hopefulness and warmth. 

 

An internal struggle was clear on the good doctor’s face, but the longer he looked at his closest friend, the more visibly he caved. 

 

He sighed, breaking the saccharine tension and looked down, giving a soft chuckle. “Oh, Henry. Must you be so silver-tongued?” 

 

Lanyon got only a lopsided grin in response. 

 

“Okay, okay, you win. I’ll talk to the some of the associates and try to make something work.” Gently, and possibly even hesitantly, he released his friend’s hand, gathering some of his belongings on a nearby table. 

 

“But I mean it, Henry. We’re scientists, yes, but we need some sort of stable funding. The Society can’t keep afloat just by the sympathy of those who have money burning in their pockets. I’ll be back tomorrow morning, and we’ll press on from there, okay?” The alchemist only grinned, appearing to almost shimmer in such close company. 

 

“Alright. Oh, and Robert-”

 

The doctor looked back, one foot outside of the door. 

 

“Thank you.”

 

Jekyll saw his own expression returned in kind, Robert Lanyon radiating warmth every time he smiled at him. 

 

“Of course.”

 

Maybe, Jekyll thought, that was just how Lanyon looked to  _ him _ .

 

_“Of course it’s how he looks to you! You’re a lovestruck fool preoccupied by a schoolyard crush! It’s lame and you know it!”_ _Just_ as Lanyon closed the door. Naturally.

 

Emerald smoke pooled on either side of Jekyll’s periphery as his alter ego revealed himself from wherever it was he had been hiding today. The alchemist felt a combination of dread and dull resignation as the poltergeist-like separation of his soul now floated into his field of vision. It was here that Jekyll and Hyde looked dead-on at one another, each looking unimpressed for two completely different reasons. 

 

_ “...You’re brilliant, you know. You’re  _ **_such_ ** _ a good scientist. You could probably be  _

_ curing, like, sixty diseases right now if you weren’t so fixated on your cute little boyfriend.” _ Jekyll remained unbothered. 

 

“Sure, coming from the same person who’s formulated a sport out of reminding me how much I’ve failed in my life. Also, sixty diseases?  _ That’s  _ a little excessive. Appreciate the vote of confidence, though- I’m shooting for at least five at the moment, but I could probably go a little further if I didn’t have to deflect all of your drivel on the day-to-day.”

 

Crossing his arms, Hyde held a petulant glare at his alter ego for a moment before abruptly breaking away, holding an overly dramatic pose in midair. 

 

_ “I just don’t understand what has your heart so, oh, I dunno,  _ **_aflutter_ ** _ over him. What is it about the guy that’s got you constantly thinking about him? What makes him oh-so- _ **_distracting_ ** _?”  _

 

Jekyll said nothing, but adopted a small smirk as his counterpart continued on his faux-dramatic rant. 

 

_ “Is it his dumb-looking face? Or, or, the way he carries himself like a posh little poodle, despite having a hand in creating this whole place, which, can I just say, is decidedly  _ **_un_ ** _ -posh?” _

 

“Hmm, no thanks to you, ever the- oh what was it you said-  _ god of chaos? _ ” 

 

The smaller man’s hair seemed to puff up in indignance, but Jekyll remained uncharacteristically steadfast, even looking amused. 

 

_ “Well, between the two of us, I’m the one that owns it, so I don’t know what the hell you’re on about. But-ugh, you know I’m right when I say that there are gorgeous men and women all over this city. Yet out of every single one of them, you had to pick the biggest nerd of all. The prettiest one, with the nicest clothes, the-oh, the most  _ **_basic_ ** _ of priorities, and the prissiest demeanor- despite the fact that at the end of the day, he’s almost like one of us. Of course it was  _ **_him_ ** _ that you decided to get your knickers in a twist over.”  _ Jekyll, who had already returned to his glass of wine, calmly took another sip and looked at Hyde nonchalantly.

 

“Hmm.”

 

_ “Hmm?”  _

 

“Hmm. Funny, I think you answered your own question.” Jekyll only stared into his glass, swirling the contents around lazily.

 

Hyde, looking apprehensive, only narrowed his eyes.   _ “Yeah? How so?”  _

 

“Well, isn’t it obvious? Clearly, you love him too.”

 

That garnered the initial reaction Jekyll was expecting— obnoxious, derisive laughter. Noticing Hyde now floating in circles above him, the alchemist internally prepared some words in mind for the rant that would soon follow.

 

_ “Hah! Me! In love with that  _ **_sheep!_ ** _ ” _ “Oh, that’s a new one,” Jekyll interjected.

 

_ “You really think I, Edward Hyde, the spirit of London at night-” _ Mockingly, his counterpart repeated it back-  _ “one of the most criminal entities in the city, let alone possibly even the COUNTRY, will go goo-goo over some cute little freckles and fluffy hair and  _ **_theatrical_ ** _ demeanor! Usually, you’ve got one hell of a stick up your ass, but I’ve gotta hand it to you, that’s pretty good!”  _

 

Jekyll took a final sip of the wine, and looked up to his cackling adversary. 

 

“I don’t think you have quite realized how similar to me you truly sound right now. If I didn’t know any better, I could have sworn you’ve stolen the thoughts right out of my brain. Oh, wait-” a devilish smirk erupted on Jekyll’s face- “you did.”

 

Hyde paused his idle floating, caught off guard. 

 

The man on the ground saw his chance and took it- “You’re so caught up in your own pretentious sarcasm that you never realized that you’ve professed your own love not a minute ago! News flash,  _ chaos god— _ heh,  _ we share the same brain.  _ Would it not make sense that we share the same heart? The same feelings?” Jekyll felt his adversary shrink back just slightly, and used the opportunity to keep his momentum.

 

“See, it’s just like how you love rogue science just as much as I, but you also just  _ love _ to distance yourself from me, so you simply call it by a different name. It’s the same logic, Hyde, and you know it.”

 

_ “Oh, shut  _ **_up!_ ** _ You think you’re  _ **_soo_ ** _ cool with that little smirk, but you know it’s vapid as hell! And you think you know damn near everything, don’t you! I bet that-“ _

 

_ “ _ Aw, but you said I was  _ such _ a good scientist. Tell me you haven’t thought about this, I  _ dare  _ you. Tell me you’ve never wanted to feel that  _ fluffy hair _ in your hands when you kiss him. Tell me you’ve never wanted to dance with him and have him hold you with that  _ prissy demeanor.  _ Tell me you’ve never wanted... to be one of his  _ most basic priorities. _ We’re in the same boat here, and you know it just as well as I!”

 

It was then that Jekyll felt a darker tone in the silence that lay between them.

 

_ “...Rare of you to actually feel secure in something.” _

 

Jekyll sighed, figuring the real self-loathing would need to come in eventually. This wasn’t a new development, however, and he armed himself to the teeth with defense mechanisms. 

 

“Rare of you to be the one that needs convincing. I’m surprised you’re not the one telling  _ me  _ all of this— How about a reminder that we’re the  _ same person _ ?”

 

_ “Oh, fuck you, that’s  _ **_my_ ** _ line!” _

 

“You’re dodging because you know I’m right. I’ve heard some of your thoughts, come on now. Seeing you actually in denial about something is kind of funny, I must say.”

 

Hyde let out a frustrated grumble, crossing his arms and turning away from the alchemist.

 

_ “And what about it, then? Not like anything’s gonna happen, anyway. Look at us, you really think someone would want the fate of living with this-“  _ he turned back around, swaths of green energy materializing around him while he motioned to both him and Jekyll-  _ “forever? I’ve heard  _ **_your_ ** _ thoughts, too, so don’t act like some holier-than-thou socialite, not that you already aren’t one. Just because someone loves him doesn’t mean anything’s gonna come to fruition-“  _ (“Oh, big word.”) - _ “is it? He’s too uppity to consider saying anything even  _ **_if_ ** _ something was there! Honestly, Jekyll-“ _

 

_ “ _ I think you’re overthinking it. Which honestly says a lot, coming from me. Don’t people overthink when they have little puppy crushes, anyway?”

 

_ “You’re dodging because you know I’m right!” _

 

Wordlessly, Jekyll reached over and poured himself another glass. Upon closer investigation, he noted the wine reflecting green light from the nearby mirrors. In fact, if he concentrated very hard, he figured it almost looked like a storm in the middle of the ocean. Kind of like art.

 

He was never one for art. The alchemist reasoned, however, that picking up a completely new hobby sounded vastly preferable than paying attention to the situation at hand. 

 

_ “Okay, so you win, both of us are in love with him. Yaaaaaaaay. ”  _ The alternate persona childishly threw his hands up in a contempt-laden mock celebration.  _ “But it doesn’t change anything, you know. As long as you’re out, the two of you will, oh, just  _ **_constantly_ ** _ stumble over each others’ words and, aw, hold each others’ haaands, and say things that a bloody  _ **_married couple_ ** _ would say, but you’ll never actually  _ **_do_ ** _ anything about it. As long as you’re out. Unless-“ _

 

Jekyll nearly did a spit take, “Don’t even think about it.” Hyde just maintained the troublemaking grin that always served to affirm the other’s love for wine. 

 

_ “Oh, but I didn’t say anything. Just, y’know, a concept. Maybe something will change if you-hah!-dared to tell the truth about us! That is, provided he doesn’t immediately run away screaming from the abomination against God that he’ll be presented with.” _

 

“Yeah, now I think I’ll just abstain.”

 

_ “All of your life.” _

 

Jekyll let out a long-held sigh and trudged over to his paperwork-coated desk, not forgetting to take another sip from his glass while his alter ego snickered above him. 

 

This was going to be a long night.

  
  



End file.
